Mail-bag catcher and deliverer.



P. A. VOLLMER. 1 MAIL BAG GATOHER AND DELIVEBER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 9, 1910.

Patented June '13, 1911.

WITNESSES:

ATTORNEY.

FRANK A. VOLLMER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

MAIL-BAG CATCHER AND DELIVERER.

Specification of Letters iatenc. Patented June 13, 1911.

' Application filed December 9, 1910. Serial No. 596,466.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK A. VoLLMnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in struction more fully set forth in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side cleva: tion of a mail'car. (broken) showing my invention in actual operation; Fig. 2 is an enlarged horizontal section on the line 22 of Fig. 1; and Fig. '3' i s an enlarged vertical cross-section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

The object of my invention is to constructa mail-bag catcher and deliverer which shall insure a positive delivery and catchin g of a mail-bag with a motion of the train at any reasonable speed, the portion of the device carried by the car being adapted to be swung toward the car within easy reach of the mail-clerk for purposes of removing the bag which has been caught at a station.

A further object is to produce a simple, cheap and reliable device the advantages of which will be fully apparent from a detailed description of the invention which is as follows Referring to the drawings, C represents a mail-car and D the door-opening thereof. Projecting from a point over the door-opening is a bracket B having a dependingn ein her 1- circular in cross-section, which terminates in a square or polygonal portion 2. Over the latter is passed a stationary disk or plate 3, held rigid between the shoulder s at the top of the portion 2 and a bottom clamping nut n passed over the screwthreaded terminal of the portion 2, the up per face of the disk 3 being provided withv an annular groove or way 4.

Within this groove rides the lower rim of a spider 5, the hub of which is rotatably mounted on the member 1, the spider being provided with a pair of'lngs 6, 6,-between which is pivoted an operating lever arm 7. Diamet rically opposite the lugs 6, 6, the spider is provided with a bracket 8 to which is cen trally and rigidly secured a flexed steel mail-bag supporting member 9 the hail of the mail-bag on being suspended always on the rear arm or section of said member 9 relatively to the direction in which the car is moving (Figs. '1, 2); Disposed along the track at a station is a post P'terminating in a goose-neck p to which is rigidly secured a mail-bag supporting member 9 similarto the member '9 but flexed in the opposite direction thereto. The bag m is suspended from the front arm of the member 9 lookingtcward the direction from which the car is moving (Figs. 1, 2'). By having the arm terminals of themembers 9, 9, flexed respectively in opposite directions, Fig. 2, (those of the member 9 being flexed toward the car, and those of the member 5), from will always ride over the exposed face of the member 9, no matter how much the car may sway from side to side (the swaying never being so pronounced as to bring the advancing arm of the member 9 behind the rear arm of the member 9) and since the members 9, 9, are more or less resilient laterally, they will yield to the swaying of the car while the member Skis passing over the stationary member 9. By examining F 2 it will be apparent that after the member 9 has passed beyond the member 9', the ha m hanging from the rear arm of the member 9 will be left behind suspended from the rear arm of the station member 9, and the bag hung from the front arm of the member 9 will be picked up by the front arm of the moving member 9, the arms in each case freely passing through the bail or handle of the suspended bag.

For its operating position the spider 5 is turned so asto bring the arm 8 at right angles to the car, when the member 9 will be parallel to the car. The parts are rigidly locked in this position by swinging the lever 7 down between a pair of locking lugs 10, 10, on the fixed plate 3. There are three pair of lugs 10, thus permitting the mail-clerk to rotate the spider 5 in either direction and lock it when the arm 8 has been brought parallel to the car, When the arm 8 has been swung parallel to the car the bag caught at the station may be con vcniently removed from the member 9 and pulled into the car. The bag delivered at the car) the arms of the moving member 9 ",yielding mailbag supporting member secured centrally to said arm, a similar stationary bag-supporting member located adjacent the track, and adapted to be traversed by the member carried by the car, whereby one" bag is picked up by the moving member and thepther caught by' the stationary member. l

2. In combination with a mail-car, a fixed plate mounted op 'osite'the door-opening of the car, a rotatab e member rovlded with a pivoted actuating lever, an 'with a rigid radially projecting armdiametricallyppposite the lever, pairs of lugs'on the stationary plate for engaging the lever for lookingthe parts together, the fixed; plate being-provided with anjannnlar groove engaged b the rotatable -,memberfo-r prevent ng accidental-displacement of the rotatable mem ber, a bag-supporting laterally yielding member secured centrally at the outer end ofthe arm on the rotatable member, the free ends of the arms at said yielding member being flexed toward the car, a similar stationary bag-supporting I member positioned at a station along the track, the terminals of the arms of the latter member beingflexed from the car, the inner face of the stationary membe being traversed by the outer face of the ag-supporting member on the car, the parts operating substantially as, andfor the purpose set forth.

3. In combination with a mail-car, a resilient bag-supporting and catching member having twoarms withv terminals] flexed toward the car, a similar stationary member along'the track traversed by the moving member and having arm terminals flexed from the car, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature,

in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK A. VOLLMER.

Witnesses:

' W. C. KILLEEN,

H. NnLsoN GRAY.

(,opies thispatent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents,

"Washington, D. 0. I 

